Gold in Them Thar Donations?

Link to May 9 Star-Tribune article, "Digging for treasure at book sales - electronically".

Excerpt: Like prospectors sifting for gold, book dealers using electronic scanners comb through local library book sales for volumes to resell for profit on the Internet.

Worried that average library patrons looking for a hidden treasure or a cheap copy of a favorite novel are losing out to the high tech bargain hunters, volunteer groups that run many of the used book sales have begun debating whether to ban or limit the electronic devices.

The Friends group at the St. Louis Park library did banish scanners after losing patience with buyers who collected piles of books, scanned them and left castoffs in heaps around the room. Minnetonka also decided to bar scanners until noon during its one-day sales to give its readers first shot at books.

At the same time, there's a trend for some Friends groups to make an effort to identify potentially valuable books , put them aside, and (a) sell them online or (b) create a "Special Value" section of individually priced items.